Jesse Owens entered the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in Adolph Hitler's Berlin, as the best track athlete in the world, holding multiple world records. At the 1936 Olympics, Owens cemented his status as the best athlete in the world by winning gold medals in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, the long jump, and the 4 x 100 relay race. This achievement by an African American at an Olympics held in Nazi Germany is often seen as a rebuke to the racial ideas of Hitler and the Nazi Party. To see it that way, though, you have to ignore the actual history of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution of Jews, Romas, and other ethnic minorities.